The Last of Us
by The Inner Turmoil
Summary: 24 years after the cordyceps outbreak, Ruby and Yang struggle with survival in a world that is no longer theirs. Traveling from quarantine zone to quarantine zone, desperately trying to find a safe place to call home. Survival is difficult when your only reason for living is to protect the ones you love. Rated M for violence/gore. Be warned, main characters are not safe from death.


**Alright, so with my major excitement level to be replaying the Last of Us on PS4 tomorrow, I couldn't get this idea out of my head for a RWBY fanfiction based in the Last of Us universe. First, I'll say no. Characters from Last of Us will not appear here. Second, I am still in the middle of writing two chapters for Forced Attraction, and the next chapter for Princess and the Orphan. And finally, this story will only be updated whenever I can write the next chapter. It will not be updated regularly (At least, I don't plan on it, but we'll see what my brain says.) I will say that this story will NOT be as good as the original Last of Us story. Mostly because I can't capture that Father/daughter charm that Naughty Dog has. Also, the writers for the game are skilled to the point where I will NEVER get to that level haha. Anyway, on to the story. Please review! It helps me grow as a writer and lets me know how well I did. (Here's a kitty to help convince you!) =(: 3)  
**

***Warning: Before you begin your descent into this story and it's updates, Main Characters are NOT safe from dying! This includes the members of Team RWBY.  
**

* * *

_You step outside, you risk your life. You take a drink of water, you risk your life. And now-a-days, you breath...and you risk your life. Every moment, now. You don't have a choice. The only thing you can choose, is what your risking it for. _

_The number of confirmed deaths has passed over two hundred. The Governor has called a state of emergency..._

_There were hundreds and hundreds of bodies lining the streets..._

_Panic spread worldwide after a leaked report from the World Health Organization showed that the latest vaccination tests have failed. _

_...with the beurocrats out of power, we can finally take the neccessary steps to..._

_Venetia is now the latest city to be placed under Martial Law, now marking over 70% of Vale..._

_All residents are required to report to their assigned quarantine-_

_Riots have continued for a third consecutive day, and winter rations are at an all time low._

_A group calling themselves the Fireflies have claimed responsibility for both attacks. _

_Their public charter calls for the return of all branches of government._

_Demonstrations broke out following the exectution of six more alleged Fireflies._

_**You can still rise with us. Remember when you're lost in the darkness...look for the light. **_

_**Believe in the Fireflies. **_

RWBY

The Last of Us

* * *

**Summer, August 28th**  
**13 years after the initial Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis Epidemic Outbreak**

Before the cordyceps outbreak over twenty-four years ago, Vale was a booming country, priding themselves in their military strength, wealth, and growing economy. Advancements in technology were moving forward at an incredible rate, paving the way for a new industrial age. This lasted only mere moments when a new disease had come to light.

Cordyceps had originally been believed to only affect insects or arachnids. Miniscule spiders, ants or bee's. The spores would generally attach themselves to the host body and break through the exoskeleton. Eventually, yeast stages of the fungus spread through the body, growing over the brain. The anomaly now grown over the brain, the cordyceps takes over the host body, altering their behavior to move them to leaves before dying and reproducing.

That was in insects.

The cordyceps fungus mutated, developing everything it needed to survive and break through a warm-blooded host. Once the fungus spreads and grows over the brain, the mycelium breaks through the skull, taking over the body both inside and out. The poor souls who had been afflicted with the fungal disease are killed from the inside, and their bodies are completely under the control of this parasitic species, paving the way for the end of everything humanity had worked for.

Governments crumbled. Husbands attacked wives. Neighbors slaughtered neighbors.

Even the non-infected began killing other 'clean' humans in the name of survival. Stealing ration cards, ammunition, medical supplies. In some cases, even the clothes off of their backs.

It began to rise the question, were they really surviving?

Or were they just existing?

Now, twenty-four years later, the planet has lost nearly sixty percent of the human population, and many cities and states have fallen under martial law.

Ruby Rose was born five years into the outbreak, just two years after her sister, Yang Xiao Long. Yang was only Ruby's half-sister, since they both only shared the same dad. The older sisters biological mother had stolen all of her dads ration cards and abandoned him shortly after her birth. It wasn't long before he met Summer Rose, Ruby's mother.

She was a kind woman and she would only eat small portions of her rations than deemed healthy. She did this, so that Yang could eat when her father didn't have enough ration cards. After a while, the two fell in love and conceived Ruby. Their father and mother were both killed when Ruby had turned seven years old. Her father had been mugged and murdered by a gang of men for his ration cards. Their mother had suffered a far worse fate. During a mandatory scanning, young Ruby and Yang were stricken with horror and grief, hearing that all too familiar beeping sound.

FEDRA would often break into the homes located inside quarantine zones to scan for infected humans. Sometimes if they had any reason to believe an infected was inside, and other as just a precaution. This was the former. FEDRA Soldiers used a special machine to test humans for any level of infection with cordyceps inside the quarantine zones. It had a special needle that would break past the layer of skin at the back of your neck and scan your blood.

"Hands on your fucking heads." The soldier ordered.

Everyone complied, kneeling on the ground and placing their hands over their heads. Ruby and Yang were worried, not fully understanding what was going on. Ruby winced in pain when the needle was placed in her neck. After a split second, a low beep came from the device.

Clean.

The soldier pulled out a small cleaning rag and a small bottle of disinfectant. Spraying the needle, he briefly wiped the needle clean and moved over to Yang. The blonde couldn't keep still, her body shaking with fear. Ruby nearly screamed when one of the soldiers grabbed and constricted her, the other sticking the needle in her neck. Yang's eyes were nearly jutting out of her head, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Then, the beep came.

Clean.

Both girls felt a wave of relief wash over them. Yang let her muscles relax when the soldiers walked away, moving to the man beside her as they cleaned the needle again. He was an older man, around thirty years old with a scraggly black beard. The stress of survival was apparent on his features, as his hair had begun to gray, the skin on his face having wrinkles all over. He also had huge bags under his eyes, indicating that he had not slept well in days. Perhaps even weeks.

Could anyone blame him?

The soldiers quickly jabbed the needle in his neck, applying too much pressure and eliciting a yelp of pain. A small amount of blood dribbled down his neck. They waited slightly longer than normal before they heard the beep.

Clean.

When the soldiers moved away, the man placed his hand on his neck, applying pressure to try to keep the small wound from bleeding any further. The soldiers moved over to their mother, Summer Rose, they placed the machine at her neck after giving it another brief cleaning. A second went by and both girls felt their hearts break in unison. A different beeping sound emanated from the machine. It was faster, and didn't stop after the first beep like theirs had.

Infected.

The soldiers swiftly tackled their mother to the ground following Ruby and Yang's cries of anguish. They tried to lunge forward, only to be held in place by another soldier. Instead of claiming that she wasn't infected, which had become a common occurrence for many in this very state, Summer instead turned to her daughters.

"Ruby, Yang, please look away!" Summer desperately cried out.

The two girls couldn't move or voice their grief. Instead, they watched as they injected their mother with another needle. After the liquid from the needle poured into Summer's neck, her body began violently writhing on the ground. Summer choked back sobs of both pain and anguish, her own daughters staring in horror. The scene lasted merely seconds, despite feeling like hours. The lifeless body of their mother laid motionless on the ground.

"Oh shit!" a man cried out. Ruby couldn't tell if it was the man beside Yang, or one of the many passerby's.

There were still several more civilians waiting to be scanned. The injection had shaken their nerves. Some of the others had even attempted to run, three of them jumping off the ground and sprinting in the other direction. Ruby and Yang didn't know if they were infected, but they knew that they were no longer of this world. The soldiers didn't take any chances and opened fire, the runners momentum carrying their dead bodies just a little further before colliding with the cold concrete.

Ruby and Yang both felt their hearts beating rapidly, desperately wanting this all to end, tears pouring out of their eyes. The younger girl hadn't even realized that she'd been screaming, her sense of sound having been deafened by the sounds of gunfire being in such close proximity. Yang hugged herself, curling up into a ball and leaning her back against the wall behind her.

Girls, just _children_, had just witnessed four lives taken from the world. One of which held a special place in their hearts.

That was just the start of all of their problems.

* * *

**Summer, June 23rd**  
**24 years after the initial Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis Epidemic Outbreak**

After nineteen years on this hell-hole of a planet, Ruby was surprised she could still find sleep. She relished every moment she could close her eyes in safety, even though the moment would only last a few hours. Times of sleep only lasted roughly three hours for her, the fear of not opening them again being to great.

The stress had also played a part.

Sleepless nights began to plague her physical form. Her once lively eyes now dull, with large dark bags underneath. The red-tipped hair atop her head would always be disheveled and sometimes greasy.

She couldn't remember the last time she was able to shower.

The girl of only nineteen years wasn't sure if she should be glad that she was awake, or disappointed that it only meant another day in a world that was no longer theirs. The cordyceps infected had run them to the brink of extinction and had forced her to witness countless acts of violence and horror. To this day, she still shuddered when thinking of all the horrible things she'd witnessed.

Ruby was resting on a dirty, worn out couch. The upholstery had been torn in countless places and one of the legs had even fallen off. The color of the couch had begun to fade, making it look rather dusty. Ruby didn't care about the condition of her makeshift bed. Even having a place to sleep in was a miracle in its self.

The girl had taken refuge in a small apartment complex inside the Ashwin quarantine zone. Aswhin had been one of the first states in Vale to fall under martial law. Ruby didn't plan on staying for long. Her and Yang would often move from quarantine zone to quarantine zone, having to sneak passed FEDRA soldiers at the gates. It was dangerous, and she couldn't count how many times they'd nearly been killed by FEDRA soldiers or a pack of clickers.

The room she stayed in was incredibly dusty and broken down. A chunk of the floor had been missing, offering a view of the floor beneath her own. The hole had been haphazardly patched up with wooden boards and was no larger than the average studio apartment. It held only the basic essentials, and even those had been in very poor condition.

The girls clothing hadn't been fairing any better. Mixed with the lack of showers, no one had clean clothes. Ruby was wearing a black and red plaid shirt that had moderate amounts of caked in dirt all over. Her blue jeans were faded and had the same amount of dirt as her shirt. The only clothing she had that was in good condition were her black boots that stopped just under her knees.

Ruby heard the sound of a jiggling door knob. When the door opened, her sister Yang quickly darted in, slamming the wooden door shut. Similar to Ruby, her clothes were caked in dust. She wore a faded yellow t-shirt and black jeans that had huge holes in the knees. The blonde was seething with rage, barely acknowledging Ruby's presence in the room. Instead, she walked over to the wooden table, grabbing a bottle of alcohol and taking a large gulp. She didn't even bother grabbing one of the few glasses they had in the apartment. Ruby got up off the couch and approached her sister.

"I take it the job didn't go well?"

Yang quickly moved the bottle away from her mouth, gasping for air after chugging down the liquid.

"The fucking asshole set me up! I had the goddamn FEDRA army all over my ass!" Yang yelled, swinging her arms as she spoke angrily. The liquid resting inside the bottle swayed with the motions.

Ruby sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Yang had gone out to collect weapons from a smuggler for some Cardin Winchester guy. Promised them a few ration cards and enough ammo to get them through another month.

"So what are we gonna do?" Ruby asked.

"We're gonna find his ass and then-"

Ruby cut the blonde off, raising her voice. "Find him and do what, yang!? We're running low on ammo, we barely have any supplies. We wouldn't stand a chance and you know it!"

Yang's grip on the bottle tightened for a split second before the glass made contact with the wall. The glass bottle shattered with a loud crashing noise as the shards fell to the ground. Whatever liquid had still resided in the bottle was now dripping down the wall and onto the floor, soaking into the already rotting wood.

"Then what do _you_ think we should do!? We can't just leave the fucking quarantine zone without ammo. The damn FEDRA will have us gunned down in seconds, and even if we _do _get out, how long will it take before we get torn to fucking pieces by runners!?"

Ruby plopped down on the couch, putting her face in her hands. Things had been getting increasingly difficult in recent times. Ammo was getting more and more scarce, and getting materials smuggled into the quarantine zones wasn't safe anymore. This had been the third time they'd been betrayed during a job, and things were only getting worse.

Yang put a hand to her forehead, turning away from Ruby while she thought. Several different scenarios played out in her head, most of which involved finding Cardin and making him pay. Each of those scenarios ended with either one, or both of them dead. The only scenarios that even held a glimmer of hope involved the group calling themselves the fireflies. Those scenarios were last-ditch efforts, but Yang didn't think they had much of a choice anymore. Yang shook her head and turned back to Ruby.

"We'll have to take some jobs with the fireflies."

Ruby chuckled slightly, leaning back into the couch. "The fireflies have been dying off left and right, Yang. I don't think-"

"I don't think we have much of a choice. Our luck has been running itself thin for years, Ruby. We can't keep relying on that because our luck will run out sooner or later."

Ruby ran her fingers through her messy hair, sighing as she closed her eyes. She didn't want to admit it, but Yang had a point. Even so, she wasn't sure if she even wanted to continue. For years, they've struggled to survive, and each day, they only got more and more miserable. They risked their lives just for basic survival needs. This wasn't the way they should have to live.

"What makes you think they'll even accept our help?" Ruby finally spoke up.

"Well...its just like you said. They've been dying off left and right. I think they need all the help they can get."

Ruby set her hand on the arm rest of the couch, the other reaching into her pockets. She pulled out a small, worn out cross that had belonged to her mother. She fiddled with it between her fingers, swallowing hard and nodding her head.

"Okay."

* * *

**I apologize if this ending seemed to be too abrupt, but I felt like it was a good place to leave off. One more point I'd like to point out, yes. White Rose will be in this story, as I refuse to write anything else (SUE ME!). However, the relationship won't really take a MAJOR center stage, but will be a fairly main plot point. Thanks to those of you who took the time to read this! You are awesome!  
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